Government uses ordinances to get around logjammed Parliament
The government on Wednesday approved the promulgation of an ordinance on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 to enhance the foreign investment limit in the sector to 49%. Another ordinance was promulgated to start auctioning 24 coal mines from Thursday. Both bills had been stalled in the Rajya Sabha during the winter session thanks to the Opposition demanding answers from the Prime Minister on the forced religious conversions row.
Assam attacks were acts of ethnic cleansing
A day after pro-Bodoland militants killed more than 70 people in different parts of Sonitpur and Kokhrajar in Assam on Tuesday morning, the rising death toll and count of missing persons indicated it had been an act of ethnic cleansing. As a reaction, an angry mob of Adivasis attacked police stations in Sonitpur and Bodos in Chirang district. Six Adivasis died. In 2012, similar conflicts between Bodo tribal groups and Bengali-Muslims in Kokrajhar left over a hundred people dead and five lakh homeless.
Raghuvar Das tipped to be Jharkhand's first non-tribal CM
Raghuvar Das is tipped to be the first non-tribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Bharatiya Janata Party officials said on Wednesday. In the recently concluded assembly elections, the BJP-led alliance won 42 out of 81 seats, and claimed the majority to form government. The veteran Saryu Rai had also been a contender for CM. But consensus was building for Das, who also enjoys the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah.
Airtel to charge extra for VoIP calls
On Wednesday, telecommunications provider Airtel announced on its website that it would soon exclude Voice over IP services from low-cost data packs available to prepaid subscribers. Airtel is India's largest telecom provider by size of subscriber base, and makes most of its money from prepaid services: when users pay in advance for services. The company added that it would charge extra for VoIP services, apart from issuing a separate data pack for that. The move is likely to spark an exodus from Airtel to other providers, although there is also speculation that the other providers will implement similar restrictions.
Blast in Quetta kills two
A powerful explosion in Quetta on Wednesday killed two and injured 36 others. Police said they were surprised by the blast's strength, which occurred in a vehicle parked outside a restaurant and damaged nearby shops and set fire to nearby buildings. The fires were put out after a few hours. No immediate details were available about the culprits.
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The government on Wednesday approved the promulgation of an ordinance on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 to enhance the foreign investment limit in the sector to 49%. Another ordinance was promulgated to start auctioning 24 coal mines from Thursday. Both bills had been stalled in the Rajya Sabha during the winter session thanks to the Opposition demanding answers from the Prime Minister on the forced religious conversions row.
Assam attacks were acts of ethnic cleansing
A day after pro-Bodoland militants killed more than 70 people in different parts of Sonitpur and Kokhrajar in Assam on Tuesday morning, the rising death toll and count of missing persons indicated it had been an act of ethnic cleansing. As a reaction, an angry mob of Adivasis attacked police stations in Sonitpur and Bodos in Chirang district. Six Adivasis died. In 2012, similar conflicts between Bodo tribal groups and Bengali-Muslims in Kokrajhar left over a hundred people dead and five lakh homeless.
Raghuvar Das tipped to be Jharkhand's first non-tribal CM
Raghuvar Das is tipped to be the first non-tribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Bharatiya Janata Party officials said on Wednesday. In the recently concluded assembly elections, the BJP-led alliance won 42 out of 81 seats, and claimed the majority to form government. The veteran Saryu Rai had also been a contender for CM. But consensus was building for Das, who also enjoys the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah.
Airtel to charge extra for VoIP calls
On Wednesday, telecommunications provider Airtel announced on its website that it would soon exclude Voice over IP services from low-cost data packs available to prepaid subscribers. Airtel is India's largest telecom provider by size of subscriber base, and makes most of its money from prepaid services: when users pay in advance for services. The company added that it would charge extra for VoIP services, apart from issuing a separate data pack for that. The move is likely to spark an exodus from Airtel to other providers, although there is also speculation that the other providers will implement similar restrictions.
Blast in Quetta kills two
A powerful explosion in Quetta on Wednesday killed two and injured 36 others. Police said they were surprised by the blast's strength, which occurred in a vehicle parked outside a restaurant and damaged nearby shops and set fire to nearby buildings. The fires were put out after a few hours. No immediate details were available about the culprits.